


I'm Fine.

by Legends_Never_Die



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst, Cute, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hidden abuse, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, M/M, Protectiveness, Sad, Secrets, Slow Burn, jealous Josh Lyman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:20:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 15,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29327682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legends_Never_Die/pseuds/Legends_Never_Die
Summary: Sam is a happy carefree kind of guy. At least that's what it looks like on the outside. On the inside he is dealing with a secret. Will Josh be able to save him from his abusive boyfriend before it's too late?---or Sam is being abused and tries to keep it as well as his growing feelings for a certain Josh Lyman a secret
Relationships: Josh Lyman/Sam Seaborn
Comments: 108
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

The first time it happened Sam cried.

Never in a million years had he thought that his boyfriend of 14 months would slap him across the face in an angry fit. James, his boyfriend, had immediately apologized and flooded him with kisses and gentle touches. Sam had cried more from the shock rather than the pain. Truthfully it didn’t hurt much. It wasn’t something he couldn’t handle.

The second time James hit him it wasn’t followed by an apology. He had shouted at Sam for coming home to their shared apartment so late and shoved him against a bookshelf. He had then left and headed to the bar just a block away. Sam cried again, this time from pain. The back of his head throbbed from the collision. But he was sure it would never happen again. James was just mad. He could be an emotional person.

Sam was fine. He could handle himself.

It had been five months since the initial slap and Sam was currently in his office applying a thick load of concealer around his eye to cover the dark bruise. He wasn’t concealing his situation exactly; it was just unprofessional to go into a staff meeting with a black eye. That was all.

He heard quick footsteps that he recognized to belong to Josh making their way towards his office. He quickly shut his hand-held mirror and shoved it as well as the makeup into his desk drawer. He hoped he had done a good enough job. No one had mentioned anything to him just yet. He was good at covering the evidence.

“Hey Sam, we’ve got senior staff.” Josh called out, sticking his head inside the deputy communications director’s office. Sam wondered how Josh could already sound stressed out at 6 in the morning. It usually too Sam until 7 at least to feel like the government was falling apart.

“Right.” He nodded. He grabbed his legal pad he always carried in case he needed to write anything down and walked around his desk, meeting Josh in the hallway.

“You look tired.” Josh remarked as they began making their way towards the oval.

Sam gave him a confused look. “I actually got a decent amount of sleep last night.”

“You’ve got bags under your eyes.” The other man pointed out.

Right. He must be able to see part of the bruise. “Oh yeah. I forgot I only slept a few hours.” He quickly back petaled.

“You… forgot?” Josh asked, clearly skeptical.

“Yup.” He nodded.

“You are a strange man Sam.” Josh said as they made it to Leo’s office to wait for the president.

“You aren’t picking on our little Sammy, are you?” CJ teased from where she was sitting on the coach next to Toby. They had an ongoing joke of calling Same little or young. He _was_ the youngest out of senior staff but not but very much. Josh was only a couple years older than him! But they all insisted on teasing him naming him, the baby of the group.

“Never” Josh smirked.

“He is speaking with the First Lady they we will start the meeting.” Leo spoke, exiting the oval office. The “he” he referred to was, of course, the president. Leo went and sat at his own desk before looking up. “You look tired Sam.”

“That’s what I said!” Josh added.

“I’m just tired. Had a late couple night.” Sam replied, hoping to end that conversation.

“I remember when I used to have ‘late nights.’” Leo laughed, clearly implying that Sam was doing something other than sleeping.

“I haven’t had a ‘late night’ since I took this stupid job.” CJ said, half joking and half serious.

“I was just working.” Sam turned bright red.

“Sure. Working. Hey what’s that boyfriend of yours named anyway? Jude? Jack?” CJ asked.

“James.” Sam replied. He began fiddling with the sleave of his dress shirt uncomfortably. Why couldn’t they just change the subject?

“Why haven’t we met him yet?” Leo asked.

“He’s not a republican, is he?” Toby asked, speaking for the first time.

“No.” Sam replied.

“What are we talking about?” They were interrupted by the one and only Jed Bartlet strolling through the doorway. Everyone stood quickly. They didn’t typically meet in Leo’s office unless it was a more relaxed day than usual.

“We were just talking about Sam’s boyfriend Mr. President.” Leo informed him.

“He’s not a Republican, is he?” Bartlet asked, echoing Toby’s question.

“No sir.” Sam shook his head.

“And why haven’t we met him yet? Did he not vote for me?” Jeb seemed to be in a good mood today if his teasing was any indication.

“He works a lot” Sam said, choosing not to answer the second part of the question because James did not in fact vote for Bartlet.

“Well, you should invite him to the gala tomorrow night for…what’s it for again?”

“The ambassador to Canada.” Josh said, speaking for the first time in a while. His posture was stiff like he was not enjoying the conversation one bit. Sam wondered why.

“Right. Well, I’ll expect to see him there. Tell him to brush up on his National Park trivia as well because if he wants to date, what is it they call you, out little Sammy? If he wants to date our little Sammy, then he better know the area of Yellow Stone.” The president spoke.

Sam felt himself turning even redder. “D-don’t we have things to discuss?” He asked.

“Yes we do.” Leo said. Everyone stood and made their way into the oval where they began discussing everyone’s jobs for the day. Sam didn’t want to admit it but he wasn’t really paying attention. He was dreading the next night. He knew he would have to bring James with him tomorrow. It was a direct request from the president after all! He only hoped everything would go smoothly and James could keep his temper in check.

Across the room, Josh was also distracted but for different reasons. Josh Lyman was not a typically jealous person but the thought of Sam showing up on the arm of another man made him feel sick. He and Sam had been friends for years. Good friends. Just friends. So why did he feel like this now? Why did he feel the need to pull the younger man into his arms and never let go?

But he knew he would never get the change. Sam was happily in a relationship. All that mattered was his happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there are not a lot of people in this fandom anymore but I just love the West Wing so I'm going to write this work. LMK what you think and if I should continue!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick warning: Sam tries to justify the abuse that is happening. There is NO EXCUSE for domestic abuse. Seek help if it happens to you.

Sam clutched his briefcase tightly in his hand as he made his way up the stairs to his and James’s shared apartment. James didn’t like it when he came home late. That had been made crystal clear to him. But working in the West Wing meant he didn’t have very much control over his schedule and sometimes meant he had to come home past midnight. Like he was tonight.

It had been a long day. There had been a vote scheduled on the Hill for a new piece of healthcare legislation and they had had just enough votes to get it through. Well, that was until one of their democrats decided to flip last minute and resulted in hours of frantic phone calls and scrambling. Josh had been the one who was able to persuade the deciding vote but it wasn’t till late into the night.

Sam had driven home as quickly as he could without breaking any traffic laws (It wouldn’t look good if a senior official got pulled over for running a red light).

As he turned the key to open his door, he prayed to anyone who would listen that James was asleep. That he had decided not to wait up. Or that he simply wasn’t there. Maybe he was out drinking with his friends and wouldn’t be there to, as he called it, ‘teach Sam a lesson.’

Unfortunately, luck was not on his side that night.

“Where have you been?” James spoke the second the smaller man stepped through the door.

“I w-was at work.” He spoke softly. Anyone who had ever heard Sam speak wouldn’t not recognize his voice now. It was timid and fearful, not at all like the confident and passionate Sam who could write a State of the Union speech.

“Work? Till 1 in the morning?”

“Y-yeah. There w-was this vote-”

“I don’t care about the vote.” James snapped.

“Sorry.” Was all he said in reply.

“You should be! I get home at 9, exhausted from a day of work and there is nothing but a cold house! What am I supposed to have for dinner Sam? Do you want me to starve?”

“No! I’m s-sorry” Sam apologized frantically. He didn’t mention that he himself hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Not that his boyfriend would care,

“Damn right you’re sorry!” James shouted. He grabbed one of the many heavy books that Sam left littered around the apartment and hurled it across the room, hitting the speechwriter in the ribs and making him double over in pain. “Clean up your shit! I don’t want to see anymore copy of the constitution or whatever it is you read. Clean the house then come to the bedroom.”

Sam didn’t argue. Despite his complete exhaustion he spent the next hour cleaning up their living space. He carefully placed all his books in a box. He would take them to the office tomorrow. He couldn’t risk James ruining them. His books were his favorite possession.

Once the apartment was looking better, he went to the master bedroom. James was already in bed flipping though some sports magazine. He gave Sam a soft smiled as though he hadn’t just nearly broken one of the man’s ribs.

Sam returned the smile before heading to the bathroom. He removed his shirt and assessed the damage that the American Law textbook had caused. There was a new bruise that was rapidly darkening. His torso was littered with other purple marks as well. He was just grateful there was nothing on his face tonight. Those weren’t as easy to hide.

He quickly brushed his teeth and put on a pair of pajama pants and a white shirt before turning off the lights and climbing into bed.

The second he laid down on the mattress, James rolled over and pulled him close to his chest. Sam sighed contently. James could be violent sometimes but that was just because he was passionate. He didn’t hate Sam; they both knew that. And moments like this, cuddled together, was why Sam didn’t leave him. He loved James and James loved him, they just had different ways of showing it.

“There is a gala tomorrow night. For the ambassador to Canada. Do you want to come with me?” Sam asked, remembering what his co-workers had said.

“What makes you think I want to go?” James mumbled against Sam’s hair sleepily.

“I just t-though I’d ask.” Sam said sadly. He didn’t want to introduce James to everyone. He was worried that the would be able to figure out something was off. Especially Josh. He had known Josh for a long time. If anyone could read him like a book, it was Josh Lyman.

He may not _want_ James to come but he wanted James to want to come. That may not make any sense to anyone else but Sam was used to that.

“Is it back tie?” James asked eventually.

“Yeah. Very formal. Lots of politicians will be there.”

James was quiet for a moment before speaking again. “I guess I can swing by.”

Sam felt himself smile against the man’s chest. Maybe it would be okay.

\---

The next morning, Sam woke up feeling as tired as he had been when he went to sleep. He quietly got out of bed and showered before dressing in his usual suit and tie for work. His tuxedo for later that night was already hanging up in his office.

He grabbed his brief case and the large box of books before making his way to work.

Saying the huge cardboard box of literature was heavy was an understatement. It was so big Sam couldn’t even see over the top of it. But he did his best to clumsily make his way through security and towards his office.

Everything was fine until a stray pencil managed to roll directly into his path. Sam felt the object under his foot and before he could stop it, the box tipped over and all of the books clattered to the ground.

“Shit.” He mumbled, kneeling down and gathering everything as quickly as possible, not wanting to halt the foot traffic.

“Woah, what’s with the library Sam?”

Of course, it was Josh who rounded the corner that moment.

“Books.” Same said, as if that answered his question.

“I can see there are books.” Josh said with a chuckle. He bent down to the ground and began helping him put everything back in the box. “But why did you bring them all here.”

“I wanted more books in my office.” Sam lied. It wasn’t exactly like he could say he was worried his boyfriend was going to burn his prized possessions or anything.

“Right. Because we have so much free time at work that you needed to bring some…light reading.” Josh said, holding up a copy of some book in a language he didn’t recognize.

“I just like books okay?”

“Trust me. I am well aware of you love of books.” Josh smiled fondly. He put the last thing in the box and picked it up before Sam could.

“I can take it.” Sam said trying to take the container back from him.

“This box it bigger than you Sam.” Josh teased as he began carrying towards the communications bullpen.

“You are only like three inches taller than me. It’s not like you are playing NBA or anything.” Sam huffed though he was secretly grateful the other deputy had offered to carry his things. The box had been pressing into the bruise he had received last night, and it was hurting something terrible. 

“I could play NBA if I wanted to. I just got sucked into the lovely world of politics.” He chuckled. They finally made it to Sam’s office, and he set the box down as if it weighted nothing. Sam made a mental note that he should probably start lifting weights again.

“I gotta go talk to Donna about a schedule thing but I’ll see you at senior staff.” Josh said, making his way towards the door.

“Oh! By the way James said he would come tonight” Sam called before he could leave. He had expected Josh to smiled, maybe to tease him a bit. What he hadn’t expected was for the man’s face to fall into a scowl for a millisecond before being replaced with one of the fakest politician smiles Sam had ever seen.

“Great. Can’t wait to meet him.” Was all the dark-haired man said before rushing into the chaos that was the West Wing.

Sam sat at his desk, a look of confusion playing on his face. Why had Josh frowned? Maybe Sam had just imagined it at the sleep deprovision was getting to him. No, it had definitely been there. So that left one question,

What was going on with Josh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! You can probably already tell but there will be a lot of angst in this but there will be some fluff eventually! Lmk what you think!!


	3. Chapter 3

“Shit” Sam cursed under his breath as he looked at himself in the mirror. He had just changed from his everyday suit into his black tux for the event that night. Unfortunately, the sleaves of the fancy jacket were a tad but shorted than that of his work jacket. This meant that his wrists were just barely exposed. Unfortunately, that meant the bruises on his wrists could been seen. He needed to get to his office and cover the purple marks with his concealer.

He quickly slipped out of the bathroom he had changed in. He carefully placed the clothes he had changed out of over his hands. Anyone would assumed he is just bringing the suit back to his office but he also successfully managed to cover the blue finger prints.

“Hey Sam! You look sharp!” CJ smiled as they nearly bumped into each other in the hall.

“Thanks” Sam blushed. “So do you.”

“Thank you but I haven’t changed yet. Just finished briefing.” She said.

Sam had been so worried about covering his arms that he hadn’t even noticed CJ was still in her suit rather than an evening gown.

“Right. You still look great.” He said, trying to play his distracted words off as a compliment.

“You better stop talking like that or I’ll think you’re flirting with me.” She laughed. They began walking together in the direction of their offices. “Speaking of flirting, is that boyfriend of yours coming tonight?”

“Yeah. He is.” Sam nodded.

“I hope he’s ready for the President, Josh, and Toby. Leo and I won’t tease too much but I don’t think Bartlet was kidding about testing his National Parks knowledge.”

“Noted.” Sam nodded, cracking a smile. “See you later.”

They parted ways with a wave and Sam finally made it into the safety of his office. He locked the door behind him so no one would walk in on him. He rolled his sleeves up and carefully began applying make-up over the lower part of his wrist.

Once he was satisfied, he shoved the concealer back in his drawer and wove his way around the stacks of books that now lived in his office to get to the door.

“That’s not Sam Seaborn!” It was Josh who made his way over to the speech writer. Sam felt his mouth go dry. He hadn’t seen the other man in a tux in a while. Josh looked good.

  
“What?” Josh asked.

Shit. Sam hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “I said we look good” He quickly amended.

“We do look good” Josh laughed.

“Break it up you too” Toby exited his office, somber as ever, also dressed in a tuxedo. “Come on. We’re late.”

“No one cares if we are there. They just care about the president.” Josh said as they began walking towards the large ballroom.

“And yet we are required to go.” Toby replied.

The gala was already in full swing once they arrived. Sam immediately scanned his eyes through the crowd in search of James. He felt a glimmer of hope that tonight could actually be fun. Maybe James would be the kind dashing gentleman he could be on occasion. Maybe he would know the names of all the National Parks.

But he wasn’t there yet. And he didn’t show up for the next two hours. Sam had begun the night by waiting by the doors, turning hopefully any time they opened. Now he had resigned to a night of dull conversations. He was in the middle of debating a senator on the new healthcare bill when he felt a large hand snake around his waist.

“Excuse me.” He said to the Senator before turning and pulling James into a hug. “You came.” He said with a big smile.

“Yeah, well I said I would.” James said, not even pretending to enjoy himself for Sam’s sake.

“You look good.” Sam said looking up at him. He was dressed in a well-tailored tux and looked like every other hot young politician in the room.

“When did you get your tux. I think you might be gaining wait.” James said, choosing to criticize Same rather than accept the compliment.

Sam shrunk in on himself a bit, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. He knew he couldn’t have gained weight because he had been so busy, he had grown accustom to skipping meals as of late. Before he could reply they were interrupted by the one and only Jed Bartlet.

“Sam Seaborn, care to introduce me to this young man.”

“Yes sir. This is James Evans, my partner.” Sam introduced.

Only Sam was able to see the gears switch withing James. One second he was insulting Sam, the next he was shaking the President’s hand with a smile and thanking him for the invitation. He was a vision on manors and politeness.

“It’s nice to meet you too James. We have all been dying to meet you.” Bartlet spoke. His eyes were unreadable, but he seemed to be gathering as much information as possible from their interaction.

“It is truly an honor sir.” James said with another smile.

“What is the biggest National Park.”

“I’m sorry?” James spoke, clearly taken aback at the sudden question.

“What is the largest National Park.” The older man repeated.

James clearly did not know the answer.

“Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.” Sam muttered in barely over a whisper.

“That would be Wrangell-St. Elias National Park” James echoed, pretending he knew the answer.

“Very good!” The president spoke, clearly pleased the man knew the answer. “It looks like you will make a fine partner for Mr. Seaborn. Excuse me.” He said as he was pulled away by some politician hoping to get some face-to-face time with the commander in chief.

“I didn’t think this would be a US History exam” James huffed once Bartle was out of ear shot. “I need a drink.”

“Why don’t you wait till we get home.” Sam suggests nervously. The last thing he needed was for James to get drunk and turn violent in the white house.

The taller man leaned in close to Sam and spoke in a low and dangerous voice, “Are you really telling me what to do?”

“N-no!” The speechwriter quickly amended.

“That’s what I thought. Go get me a drink.”

Sam knew better than to disobey an order. He quickly made his way over to the bar. “Would I get a scotch please? No ice.” He asked, leaning against the fancy bar as he waited.

“You’re drinking scotch?” Josh asked causing Sam to jump a bit in surprise.

“What?! Oh, sorry I didn’t see you there.”

“I’ve never seen you drink anything stronger than a beer. Even in law school?” Josh said, taking a drink of his own alcohol.

“It’s not for me. It’s for James.” Sam replied. The bartender placed the drink out for him and he took it, muttering a thanks.

“I want to meet him.” Josh said. Sam could sense a bit of aggression in his tone but he wasn’t sure why. Maybe it had just been a long night.

“Yeah alright, come with me.”

They wove their way through the crowd of me in suits and ladies in gowns to where they found James, talking to one of said young ladies. He wore yet another charming smile and was clearly flirting.

“That’s him?” Josh asked in surprise.

“Yeah.” Sam swallowed hard as he watched James place a hand on the woman’s arm.

“Come on” Josh said, nudging him.

“James.” Sam said, once they were close enough. “Here.” He said, handing him the glass of scotch.

“Nice meeting you.” The young woman said before walking away.

“They don’t make them like that anymore.” James whistled, shamelessly checking the woman out as she walked away. Sam looked at the floor, clearly upset but did not speak.

“I’m sorry aren’t you dating Sam?” Josh spoke up, clearly unhappy with the man’s behavior.

“Yes. And why are you.”

“Josh Lyman, Deputy Chief of Staff and a friend of Sam’s.” Josh said, sticking his hand out to shake. James accepted it and both squeezed he others hand a bit to firmly to be considered friendly.

“James Evans.” James spoke. Once had and Josh pulled away, he wrapped a possessive arm around Sam’s waist. “You going to ask me about National Parks too?”

“I see you’ve already met the president.” Josh replied with a chuckle that could only be described as humorless. “You get it right?”

“4.0 GPA from NYU. Of course, I did.” James smirked, leaving out that he had not, in fact, known the answer.

“4.0 from Harvard.” Josh replied, clearly trying to one up him.

Sam let out a sigh. This was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thanks for reading and LMK what you think!!❤️


	4. Chapter 4

“Magna cum lade” James stated.

“Oh, that’s cute. I was summa cum lade.” Josh replied.

“Well, I-”

“Can we not do this now?” Sam cut the two off before they could continue their argument that had already lasted over 5 minutes. He honestly didn’t know why each felt the need to be better than the other. Toxic masculinity probably.

“Yeah. I want to see the West Wing.” James said.

“We aren’t allowed to bring unregistered guests without notifying security three days prior.” Josh replied.

  
“I want to see the West Wing.” James repeated, turning to Sam and giving him a hard look.

“It’s fine Josh.” Sam replied.

Josh frowned. Sam was not the kind of person who broke rules. He was the kind of guy who would slam on the breaks at a yellow rather than speed up like a normal person. So why was he okay with braking rules now?

“Alright. I’ll see you later.” Josh replied cautiously. He watched as Sam and James made their way out of the ballroom. He couldn’t help but scan his eyes down Sam’s body. He wasn’t checking him out or anything. He just happened to notice that Sam’s ass looked amazing in those pants.

“Alright well this is the communications bullpen. My office is over here.” Sam said, leading him through the halls. There weren’t many people in the building because of the time and the party going on.

“This one?” James asked, barging into the officer before Sam. The speechwriter held his breath anxiously as the other man looked around. He wasn’t sure why, but he wanted James to like it. He wanted James to be impressed. He wanted James’s approval.

“It’s small.” Was what he said, scanning his judging eyes around the room.

“N-none of the offices are very big.” Sam said, face beginning to fall in disappointment.

“It’s a mess.” Was the next thing he said.

“I was working all day.” Sam said. He made his way over to his desk and quickly began gathering up the papers scattered across his desk.

James continued to look around, stuffing his hands in his pocket thoughtfully before saying, “Wanna have sex?”

“W-what?” Sam sputtered out in shock. “James we are in my office! We are in the West Wing!”

“I know. It would be hot.” James replied. He had a smirk on his face as he made his way towards his boyfriend like a deer stalking its prey. He kept backing him up until Sam’s back was pressed against the wall.

“N-no. Please not here. I c-can’t-” Sam tried to protect but was cut off by James slamming his lips against his.

“You will do what I tell you.” He growled out after pulling away for air.

“Please n-no.” Sam whimpered as he felt large hands beginning to grope across his body. He couldn’t disrespect his position like this. He couldn’t disrespect the West Wing. Hell! He could be fired for this! But he was completely helpless to the larger man grinding against him.

Luckily, James jumped back at the sound of a loud bang of rubber hitting glass.

“What the fuck was that?” James asked, turning to look at the glass window that currently had Sam’s side of the blind pulled down.

“Toby.” Sam explained, taking a shaky breath. James had never done something like that before. Sure, the two of them were sexually active. What young man isn’t horny some of the time? But when they did have sex, Sam had always been a willing participant. He felt a shiver run through his body at what could have happened if Toby hadn’t interrupted.

“Who is Toby?”

“My boss.” Same said. He made his way out of his own office and into the one next door, Jame following behind.

“I didn’t think you would be here. I thought you would be at the party.” Toby said, looking up with surprise on his face.

“Were you just seeing if I was in my office or do you need something?” Sam asked. Secretly he was hopping something had happened that required him to work and be able to get some space from James.

“I was just going to read through the president’s remarks for tonight. I figured you could help.”

“Yeah. Sounds good.” Sam nodded before turning from Toby to James. “Why don’t you go back to the party. I’ll be out in half an hour.”

“I’ll just wait here for you.” James replied.

“I think it would be better if-” Sam started but was cut off.

“I said I’ll wait here.” He said firmly, causing Sam to back down with a small nod.

Toby raised an eyebrow as he watched the encounter. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Toby Ziegler head of Communications.”

“Toby? That’s Jewish?” James asked.

“Yes.” Toby asked, already mentally preparing a lecture if the man said something offensive.

James’s eyes narrowed a bit for a second before he slapped on the smile only Sam knew was fake. “I’m James Evans.”

“I don’t care who you are. Just sit there and be quiet so we can work.” Toby said, pulling out the speech he and Sam had written earlier that day.

James looked like he wanted to say more to Toby but for once just closed his mouth and sat on the couch.

The next twenty minutes went smoothly as the two writers went through, the speech line by line ensuring that it was up to their usual standard. In truth it didn’t really need any changes, Toby just hated parties and Sam was looking for an excuse to not talk to James.

“What if we change challenges to obstacles. So, it says, ‘We hope to continue this friendship for years to come and will meet the obstacles of the future as allies.’ It makes it more optimistic.” Sam, scribbling something down on his paper.

Both writers looked over to the couch when they heard a loud snort.

“Can I help you?” Toby asked, clearly unimpressed. That was one of Sam’s favorite things about the older man. Much like Josh, he refused to take shit from anyone. Sam wished he was more like that.

“Why don’t you let the professionals write babe.” James said to Sam, flashing a condescending smile.

“I was just suggesting-”

“It’s cute when you try to use those fancy words.” James said in the same tone.

“Sam has the vocabulary of a man twice his age and is a very talented writer. He has worked on the State of the Union speech for God’s sake!” Toby came to his defense. Sam himself wasn’t sure whether to be upset by his boyfriend’s words or bask in the praise of the man that was usually so hard to please.

“I’m sure you are a great writer Toby and I’m glad you indulge Sam by letting him think he is doing the work, but we all know you write the speeches. Sammy is hardly capable of placing an order at a restaurant. There is no way he could write the things I’ve heard the president say.” James crossed his arms.

“Get out of my office.” Toby said calmly.

“What?” James said, a bit taken aback. He had clearly been expecting Toby to side with him.

  
“I said get out of my office!” Toby repeated, raising his voice a bit. “Now. Me and Sam need to finish this.”

“Whatever.” James muttered under his breath before turning and marching out of the room.

“S-sorry.” Sam muttered, apologizing for his boyfriend’s behavior.

“You’re sorry? He should be sorry Sam!” Toby replied, clearly pissed.

“He’s just had a long day. He’s not usually like that.” Sam came to his defense automatically.

“So? He basically just called you dumb. I know I don’t always tell you this, but you are a great deputy and an outstanding writer. You are the furthest thing from dumb there is.”

Sam didn’t know what to say. He knew he wasn’t dumb. But he wasn’t as smart as Toby. He wasn’t as smart as Josh, CJ, or Leo. No one was smarter than the President. Maybe there had been some truth in James’s words.

“You know that right Sam?” Toby spoke again when he received no reply.

“Y-yeah.” Sam lied, looking down at the floor.

“If there was anything going on you would tell us, right?” Toby asked. It was strange to hear his voice so soft and concerned.

“Yeah.” Sam lied again. “I should get back to the party.”

“Right. I’ll polish up the speech. You did good tonight.” Toby said.

“And Sam?” Toby spoke again before the other man could walk away.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t like that boyfriend of yours.”

Call it intuition, but Toby had a bad feeling about that guy. Something wasn’t right. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! LMK what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

“He’s ready for you.” Mrs. Landingham spoke, informing the senior staff that they could enter the oval, which they did.

“How are we going to disappoint the American people on this lovely Monday?” The President asked, looking up from his desk.

“Well Toby and Sam are working on the write up for the education bill so that’s a start.” Leo spoke.

“Where is Sam by the way?” Bartlet asked. Everyone looked around in surprised, they hadn’t noticed the absence of the youngest. It wasn’t till then that they realized how oddly strange and quiet their morning had felt.

“I’m not sure. I hadn’t seen him since last night.” Josh said. “He was with James.” The names tasted like acid in his mouth.

“Oh, I liked him. He and Sam seem good together.” CJ smiled.

“You liked him?” Toby asked in disbelief. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who was more of an asshole than him.”

“He was perfectly pleasant when I met him.” Leo spoke.

Bartlet nodded in agreement. “He seemed well taught and well spoken.”

“I’m with Toby on this one. I didn’t like him.” Josh said.

Before their conversation could continue, they were interrupted by Sam clumsily running into the oval. His hair was disheveled, and he still had his coat and brief case with him, suggesting that he had come straight here without stopping at his office.

“I’m so sorry I’m late sir. It won’t happen again.” He panted out as though he had run all the way there. His face was redder than usual as well.

“You are forgiven. Just don’t make a habit of it.” Bartlet replied.

Their meeting went smoothly, and they were all dismissed back to work. “What’s on your schedule for Sammy.” Josh asked as he and his friend made their way back to their offices.

“I’ve got to meet with Senator Waters on the hill, then I am meeting Luke Wolf from the state department to talk over lunch. Then I’m swinging by my house to get my luggage for Los Angeles.” He recited. “You still not coming?”

“I have to talk to Leo, see if he needs me here.” Josh replied. The president and his team would be going to LA to speak at a college that had received an award for being one for the best in the world. He was using the opportunity to talk about their new education plan. It was one of the rare times that they would actually be staying somewhere over night.

“Well, if you can, you should come. The schedule is surprisingly empty for the trip, so we’ll get some free time. It’ll be fun! We could be roommates.” He chuckled.

Josh swallowed hard at the thought of rooming with Sam. He liked that idea. A lot.

“I’ll talk to you later.” Sam smiled and walked off in the directions of the communications offices. Josh watched him go. He couldn’t help but notice the man seemed to be limping just a bit on his left side. Josh frowned. Could he be hurt? Maybe that had been why he was late.

He shook his head. Sam was an adult he could handle himself. Josh needed to focus. He needed to get work don’t and not think about the gorgeous man with light brown hair worked a few halls away from him.

The rest of the day was as uneventful as a day in the executive branch could be. It was nearly 10 o’clock when Sam popped his head in on Josh’s office.

“I’m going to swing by my house and pick up my stuff. Are you coming on the trip? We can share a cab to the airport?”

“Am i…Oh right.” Josh said, taking a second for his brain to turn from the bill he was reading to Sam. “Yeah that sound great. I’ll be ready in just a second.” He nodded, beginning to pile everything from his desk into his bag. Sam walked over to Josh’s couch and slowly sat down, trying to hide the wince of pain.

“You alright Sammy?” Josh asked, sending a concerned look his way.

“Yeah. Fine.” The man replied with a fake smile that looked more like a wince.

“You sure? You look a little pale. Maybe you’ve got the flu.” Josh asked. He walked over and went to place his hand on the sitting man’s forehead to test if he had a fever. Before his palm could make contact with Sam, the shorter man flinched away violently as though he though Josh was going to slap him.

Josh quickly stepped back several feet. Both men were frozen for several seconds. Josh staring at Sam, concern evident in his face, and Sam looking like a spooked animal just trying to calm his breath.

“Sam?” Josh asked cautiously.

“S-sorry.” Sam stuttered out. “I…I don’t know what happened.” It was true. He knew Josh would never hurt him. So why had he freaked out? He guessed it had just become a reflex after being touched so often by his boyfriend.

“Are you alright? I was only going to see if you had a fever.” Josh spoke again, still making sure to keep his distance so not to freak his friend out again.

“Y-yeah. Right sorry. I’m not sure what happened.” Sam lied. He took another shaky breath and tried to gather himself again. “You ready to get going?” He changed the subject.

“Yeah.” Josh said slowly, as though he wanted to discuss what had just happened more. “Yeah we can go” He said dropping the subject. He grabbed his brief case and overnight bag before following Sam out the door, taking care not to touch him. 

Josh hailed a cab and they climbed into it and sped off in the direction of Sam’s apartment, they didn’t want to miss the motorcade and their flight.

The cab pulled up in front of the tall DC apartment. “Want me to come up with you?” Josh asked.

“Umm…” Sam though for a second, running James’s schedual though his head. The man should still be at work right now so there was no harm in letting his friend come up with him. “Yeah sure” He nodded.

Josh smiled gratefully and the two made their way to the elevator. He wasn’t sure why, but Josh felt a feeling of dread inside him at the thought of Sam going up by himself. It was a stupid thought though. Sam lived here. It was his house. No one could hurt him in his home. He was safe.

  
Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! I love hearing from y'all!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Abuse and manipulation

“Wow this place is clean.” Josh said, looking around the nice apartment. Everything was perfectly in place and the kitchen counter was practically sparkling. “When I first met you you were living in a messy bachelor pad.”

“Yeah. I’ve changed” Sam chuckled. “And I’m barely even a bachelor anymore.”

“So, things are getting serious between you and James?” Josh asked. He stepper further into the room, casually looking around. Nothing here looked like it belonged to Sam. Even the furniture seemed the opposite of his friend’s personality.

“Yeah. I guess.” Sam nodded; he didn’t sound particularly happy about it but didn’t leave room for Josh to pry. “I’ll go grab my stuff.”

Josh watched his friend disappear into his bedroom. He took that opportunity to continue to snoop around the house.

The one thing Josh had remembered about Sam’s apartment when he had been living alone was that it was covered in book. Walls, tables, even the floor were littered with literature. Now, there was not a single book insight. Josh remembered Sam bringing a big box of books into the office but that couldn’t be all he had. Unless he had to give them away.

The next thing he noticed was that there were some things that just seemed out of place. There were oddly placed paintings and small scratches or marks in the walls. Little did he know that they were all from James’s attacks on Sam. Many of the paintings covered holes in the walls that had been made by Sam’s body being slammed against it.

“Ready to go?” Sam asked, coming out of the bedroom with a suitcase at his side.

Before Josh could reply, they heard the door behind them unlock. Out of the corner of his eye. Josh thought he saw Sam almost flinch at the sound.

“Who are you.” Was the first thing James said, looking at Josh.

“We met literally four days ago.”

“It’s just Josh.” Sam said quickly. “I had to grab by bag for the business trip. We were about to leave.”

“I need to talk to you Sam.” James said, his eyes narrowing. He motioned towards the bedroom and Sam swallowed hard. James wouldn’t hit him with Josh in the house, would he?

“We don’t want to be late.” Josh said, noticing Sam seemed uncomfortable.

“We’ll be quick,” James said. He grabbed Sam’s wrist and practically dragged him into the room.

“You’re cheating on me.” Was the first thing James said once the door was pulled closed.

“What? No! Never!” Sam said quickly. He would never cheat on anyone! Especially James. He honestly though James would kill him if he was ever unfaithful.

“Then why is John here?”

“Josh.” Sam corrected.

“Whatever!” James shouted, shoving Sam back against the bed. He couldn’t be loud of Joan or John or whatever his name was might get suspicious.

“I didn’t cheat! I love you. We are just getting my bag for the trip” Sam pleaded softly, tears forming in his eye. It didn’t matter than Sam knew James had cheated on him countless times, it only mattered what James thought and more importantly, what James chose to do.

“I don’t know if I believe you.” James said, his tone dangerous. He begins to move over Sam so he was hovering over him on the bed. “I think I need to mark you as mine.”

“Okay just do it quickly please.” Sam nodded. He assumed James would place a hickey on his neck or something along those lines. What he had not expected was for James to pull out a switch blade from his pocket.

“What are you-” Sam’s started, eyes wide, but was cut off.

“Shhhh. You don’t want John hearing.”

“Josh.” Sam said in a meek voice. It was both a correction and a cry for help that went unheard. James roughly popped open the buttons of Sam’s dress shirt and pulled his whiter under shirt to the side to expose his collarbone and right shoulder.

“Stay quiet or else.” James muttered the threat.

Sam nodded silently, tears now streaming down his cheeks. James brought the sharp edge of the blade to his skin and pressed it in. It was a shallow cut, not enough to cause too much damage, but enough to make Sam writhe in pain, still refusing to make a noise and alert his friend.

“There.” James said, after several seconds. He pulled back to admire his work. “You are mine. Now get going.”

Sam scrambled to his feet. He rapidly began buttoning his shirt back up. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and wanted to throw up. James had carved the letter “J” into his skin. He had branded him with his initials.

He swallowed hard. He needed to get it together. He pulled on a dark suit jacket so no one would be able to see the blood through his shirt. He wiped his face the best he could to clear them of tear and slapped on a fake smile.

“Ready to go?” He spoke, walking back into the living room where Josh was.

“Yeah. Let’s-” Josh started but stopped once he saw Sam. He looked both pale and flustered at the same time. His eyes were red as well. “Sam are you alright?!” He asked, walking over to him quickly.

“Y-yeah fine. Just a bit hot.” He tried to brush it off with a laugh.

“What happened?” Josh asked, his tone lower now.

  
“We were just saying goodbye. Making out a bit. He gets quite red after.” Came James’s voice from the doorway.

“R-right. Yeah.” Sam lied. “Let’s just get going. Please?”

Josh stared at James for a long moment, eyes narrowed before he nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

Sam and Josh exited the house quickly and hopped into their cab that was waiting for them. They didn’t speak until they were almost there.

“Has James ever hurt you?” Josh asked, his voice calm and low.

“What?!” Sam asked, trying to sound as convincing as possible. “N-no never! He loved me h-he doesn’t hurt me.” It crushed Sam to have to lie to his best friend but what other choice did he have?

“You’re sure?” Josh asked, this time turning to face Sam. “Because I can help you. We all can. We can get you out of there.”

“He’s not-”

“Then where are you books Sam? Why did you flinch when he talked to you?”

“My books are at the office or on my computer.” Sam answered, trying not to think about all the beloved books he had been forced to donate when they moved in together. “And I flinched because I’m tired. I swear he’s not hurting me. I’m fine.”

Josh didn’t reply. They spend the rest of the ride in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMK what you think!!


	7. Chapter 7

“Strips in geography. 6 letters.”

“Isthmi.” Sam answered, not looking up from the papers in front of him.

“Just because I read something out loud does not mean I am asking for the answer Samuel.” Bartlet said, looking up from his crossword.

“I’m sorry Mr. President.” Sam replied automatically.

“For the record I knew that answer.” He said, taking a drink of his water. They were about an hour our from landing in LA where the President would be speaking the next morning, They had no campaign events of executive work to before then so the entire staff had the night off.

“Why are you working on?” Bartlet asked, getting board of his crossword.

“Just going over the speech sir.” Sam said. They were the only two in the President’s cabin at the moment. They had played a game of chess then dissolved into comfortable silence.

“Didn’t you and Toby finalize it yesterday? It sounded good to me.”

“Yes, but it could be better.” He replied, still consumed in the work.

“Sam why don’t you take a break? Go start World War Three with Josh or something.”

“As fun as that sounds Sir I’d prefer to keep working.” Sam said.

“That wasn’t a request, that was an order!” Bartlet said, only half joking. “Get out of here. You need a break.”

“Yes Mr. President.” Sam nodded, reluctantly standing and making his way out of the President’s cabin to the main sitting area.

“Hey Sam” Josh said, calling him over to where he, CJ, and Toby were sitting.

“Hey guys.” He said, smiled and walking over. For the first time in a while, it wasn’t a fake smile. He was miles un the air and finally felt safe from the wrath of James.

“We’re playing poker. Want in?” CJ asks.

“No I don’t have any cash.” He replied, taking the seat next to Josh, across from CJ.

“I can give you some, you can just pay me back.” CJ said, scooting some money across the table but Sam refused to accept.

“No thanks. James wants to save money.”

“It’s your money Sam.” Josh said. “He doesn’t control it does he?”

“No.” Sam lied.

“He’s lying.” Toby spoke up for the first time. “I sign his paycheck. It goes to an account owned by James.”

“What?! So, you aren’t getting any money?” Josh asked, eyes flickering red with anger.

“No! I still get money. We just put it in his account. He gives me some each week.” Sam said, trying his hardest to defend his boyfriend. It was hard sometimes.

“He’s giving you a fucking allowance? Sam! This isn’t how a relationship is supposed to work!” Josh got to his feet. “He clearly doesn’t love you! He wouldn’t treat you like this if he did!”

“He does love me!” Sam said, standing as well. He felt tears beginning to well up in his eyes. “You just don’t get it!” He said before turning and running away from the group of senior staffers.

“That fucking James! Their relationship is clearly bad for Sam.” Josh said, still seething.

“There’s not much we can do.” CJ said sadly. “He’s an adult and unless he decides to break up with him we can’t do anything.”

“He’s bad for Sam though! Our Sam! He used to be so happy and carefree, but he’s been losing his smile more and more ever since they got together.” Josh said, taking his seat again.

“I don’t like him either but there’s nothing we can do so can we just finish the game?” Toby asked just wanting to be done with the conversation, not because he wasn’t worried about Sam, but because he knew there was truly nothing he could do and he hated that more than anything. He hated being helpless.

\--

“You’re such a lightweight Sam.” Josh said, as he and the shorter man supported each other through the door to their Hotel room. They had spent the whole night out on the town in LA, drinking more than they had since college.

“’m not.” Sam slurred as he collapsed on top of his white hotel mattress, fully clothed.

“What’s the first amendment?” Josh asked, sitting on his bed. He was drunk as well but could handle his liquor better than the other man. He pulled off his stuffy tie and began unbuttoning his dress shirt.

“Right to beer, cable, and pizza.” Sam said, voice way to confident for the false statement.

“Sure buddy. That would solve all our problems wouldn’t it.” Josh laughed. He continued to undress until he was in his plain white undershirt and boxers. He then flicked off the lights and went over to help his friend, unknotting the man’s dress shoes first.

“’You dirty rat, you bureaucrat, you’” Sam hummed to himself.

“What? I’m not a bureaucrat.” Josh chuckled.

“It’s from Annie.” Sam explained as though it were obvious.

“The red head orphan? I don’t remember that line in the movie.” Josh said, finally pulling off the brown shoes.

“It’s only in the stage version duh.” Sam laughed to himself as though Josh not knowing everything about the musical Annie was the funniest thing he had ever heard. “It’s in the song ‘We’d like to thank you Herbert Hoover’” Sam said, singing the title in a terrible out of key tone.

“You should have considered a singing career.” Josh smiled fondly. He then moved up to unbutton Sam’s shirt. He got the dark dress shirt off him successfully. Though the dark, he thought he saw the outline of something dark on Sam’s undershirt but figured it must have been a spilled drink or something so didn’t think anything of it.

“Then I wouldn’t have gotten to meet you Joshy.” Sam smiled.

“Alright, you are so drunk”

“So are you” Sam pouted.

“No, you are much more drunk.” Josh smiled. “Time for bed.” He patted Sam’s leg twice and moved to stand up but was stopped by Sam grabbing onto his wrist.

“Stay with me?” Sam asked, with pleading eyes.

“I’ll be just a few feet away.” He said, motioning to the ither queen bed.

“No, stay here.” He said. Sam scooted over, making room for the deputy on his bed. “I don’t like being alone.”

“What about James?” Josh asked. He knew it wasn’t fair, but he was hoping mentioning the dickhead would cause Sam to reveal something Josh had only been able to guess.

“It doesn’t matter.” Sam said, not taking the bait. “I can’t sleep by myself.”

“Alright.” Josh nodded after a moment of consideration. Even if he was drunk, he needed to be careful around Sam. One wrong move and he could end up revealing his true feelings and ruining their friendship.

Josh pulled the covers up and laid them over both Sam and himself. He made sure to keep space between him and the other man. The space soon disappeared when Sam rolled over and cuddled into Josh’s side.

Josh felt his breath catch in his throat. Sam must have been able to hear his heart pounding a mile a minute.

“C-cold.” Sam muttered.

Josh carefully extended his arm and wrapped it around Sam’s drowsy figure. “Goodnight Sammy.”

Sam let out a yawn. “Goodnight Josh. Love you.”

Josh knew it was just the alcohol talking. He knew Sam was just exhausted. He knew Sam didn’t really mean it. But that didn’t stop a smile from coming to his face.

“Love you too Sam.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! LMK what you think!!


	8. Chapter 8

Sam woke up in the warm embrace of another man. He didn’t remember anything about the night before. Well, he remembered that him and Josh had gone out drinking but everything else was gone from his mind.

Another thing he knew for sure what that he was in LA. He was not in DC. So why was he cuddled up next to someone when James was hundreds of miles away. Not only that, but who was he with?

Sam allowed his eyes to adjust to the bright light of the morning before looking up. He was so surprised to see the sleeping figure of Josh that he jolted backwards, nearly falling off the bed. His sudden movement caused the other man to immediately sit up straight as well.

“What happened? What did he do?” Came the frantic voice of Josh.

Sam had jumped out of the bed and was now standing as far away from Josh as was possible in the small hotel room. “Who?” He asked timidly. His hands were shaking from fear. This was bad. James was going to kill him. That wasn’t even and exhaustion. He was going to be killed. He and Josh had slept in bed together. What else had happened?

“The president. Whenever I get woken up early, I assume there was some sort of national disaster.” Josh said, rubbing a tired hand across his face. “God I’m hung over.” It wasn’t till that moment that Josh looked over at Sam for the first time. “Shit! Sam what happened?” He jumped to his feet, quickly making his way over to Sam.

“I’m f-fine.” Sam said, shaking his head in attempt to clear it.

“Were you stabbed last night? You need to go to the hospital!” Josh was freaking out. He placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder to try and get a look at the bloodstain on his shirt, but the shorter man flinched away.

  
“O-oh.” Sam looked down. He had forgotten about the letter James had carved into him. It must have leaked onto his undershirt. On the bright side, he was wearing an undershirt. That meant it was less likely anything had happened between him and Josh. “I’m fine. It’s old”

“Sam I can’t deal with this ‘I’m fine’ shit anymore! You need to go to the hospital!” Josh shouted. “Where is my phone.” Josh moved his frantic energy from Sam to over to the bed side table in search of his phone to call for help or something.

Sam couldn’t go to the hospital. That would make everything even worse for him. If James saw a hospital bill on top of fact that he had been in bed with Josh…that couldn’t happen.

“Stop Josh. I’m-”

“fine?! You’re fine?! You’re covered in blood!”

“It’s just a scratch, see?” Sam said, quickly pulling off his shirt. In his mind that made perfect since. He would show Josh the cut and he would see it was fine and be left alone. What he didn’t think about was the fact that there were more marks that the ‘j’ covering his body.

“Sam.” Josh breathed out. His eyes were somehow filled with sadness and red anger at the same time. Sam’s body was littered in an array of cuts, bruises, and scars. There were both new and old marks all green, blue, and purple. “Did James-”

“I’m fine Josh.” Sam said, instantly realizing his mistake. He grabbed an old dress shirt from the floor and pulled it on, not realizing it belonged to Josh, and pulled on his pants from yesterday.

“Sam! You are in an abusive relationship! He’s going to kill you!” Josh shouted.

At the raised volume of Josh’s voice, Sam reflexively flinched back, pulling his hands up to his face like he was afraid his friend was going to hit him.

“Sam-”

“I’m fine. I have to get back to DC.” Sam said. He was doing his best to keep his voice calm but there were shadows of tears threatening to fall from his face.

“Look Sam I’m sorry! Can’t we talk about-”

“I’ll see you on Monday Josh.” Sam said firmly, before taking his suitcase and walking out the door before Josh could stop him.

“Damn it!” Josh shouted, slamming his hand against the table in anger. He knew he had been right, but the situation was worse than he had thought. The bastard had carved a letter into Sam’s shoulder! How fucked up was that?

He needed to go after Sam. He quickly began gathering his things but was interrupted by Donna popping her head into his room. “We are leaving for the speech in five minutes.” She said.

“Alright.” Josh nodded. It might be faster to wait out the day and fly back with the president than to try and get a commercial flight. As much as he hated it, for the moment, there was nothing he could do.

\---

Sam knew he was being stupid. Why would he fly back to DC and face the rath of his boyfriend? Why would he admit what he had done? It was like the man had Sam in some sort of sick hold and was controlling him like a puppet. He was just as much in his head as he was on his body.

Sam took a deep breath and, with shaky hands, unlocked the door to the apartment. His ears were immediately filled with the sound of moaning and grunting. It was clearly two people having sex. He could recognize one voice as belonging to James but didn’t recognize the other, but he could tell it was female.

For the second time that day, Sam felt tears in his eyes. Was this his punishment for falling asleep with Josh? He had to listen to his boyfriend fuck some other girl?

He silently made his way to the couch and sunk onto it. He sat there, listening to the sounds of the love of his life getting pleasure from someone that wasn’t him. It was worse than any slap he had ever received.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMK what you think!!


	9. Chapter 9

“Where’s Sam?” Bartlet asked once his senior staffers had filed into his office. They had returned from LA the previous night and were now at their morning meeting.

“I don’t know.” Toby replied. Sam worked for him and was technically under his control.

“Josh?” The president turned to the deputy. He knew he and Sam were the closest out of the staff. “Have you heard anything?”

“No sir.” He replied. He had gone by Sam’s apartment the second their plane had landed but the other man had refused to open the door and only told him to go away.

“You think he’s out playing hooky?” The idea was honestly ridiculous. Sam was not the type to cut work for no matter the reason. He had been known to show up while sick and had been forced to go back home by Toby on many occasions.

“No sir I don’t.” Josh replied.

“Why don’t you stop by his house. Make sure he’s still alive.” Bartlet joked, assuming Sam had just slept late or something. To Josh however, it was the furthest thing from a joke. For all he knew, Sam could be dead, or seriously injured. He had seen the marks on Sam’s body. He didn’t want to imagine what James would be capable of.

“Yes sir.” Josh nodded. “I have a meeting on the hill with-”

“I’ll cover for you.” Toby said automatically.

“Glad we got that settled. Can we get back to work now?” Leo asked. Everyone nodded and they began their morning discussion. It felt different that usual. There wasn’t the happy enthusiastic voice chiming in ever now and again, speaking with poise and passion. There was an emptiness in their dynamic the same way there was an emptiness in Josh’s heart.

\---

Josh flew through his task that morning, getting as much done as he possibly could to ensure he would have maximum time with Sam. He didn’t know what the other man needed to get him out of that house, but he intended on doing everything he could. 

“Donna! Did you clear my afternoon?” Josh yelled out into the hall from his desk.

“Yes!” Came the reply from his receptionist, followed by, “Line 2!”

“Who is it?” Josh shouted.

“What?”

“Who is on the phone!” Josh yelled.

“If you would just wait a second then you wouldn’t have to yell.” The blonde huffed, waking into the office and placing a pile of faxes on the large desk. “And to answer your question, I don’t know.”

“You don’t know.” Josh repeated slowly. “You are aware that you are paid to be my assistant? One of your many duties is answering the phone telling me who is calling?”

“Only if they are put through to me from the main white house. That’s how politicians and everyone gets ahold of you. Whoever this is called your extension directly, so I put them through. That’s how it works.” She replied.

“My extension?” Only people who worked within the West Wing knew each other’s extension numbers. It made it easier to get a hold of each other when needed but he couldn’t think of anyone who would be calling him directly right then.

“Yes, I have the handbook for assistants on my desk if you would like to-”

“No no, just go back to work.” Josh muttered, ushering her out of the room and closing the door before going over to his phone and picking it up.

“Josh Lyman.” He answered. He waited several seconds for a reply but heard nothing. “Hello?” He asked. This time he heard a faint sound, almost like a shaky breath. “Who is this?”

“J-Josh?” Josh would recognize that voice anywhere. It was the same one he had longed to hear in that morning’s meeting. The same one that could debate for hours on something as trivial as the best ice cream brand. The same voice that echo’s though his dreams.

But something sounded off. Something sounded wrong. Sam’s voice should never be laced with so much fear.

“Sam? Are you okay? Where are you?” Josh asked, he quickly grabbed his coat, keeping the phone firmly pressed to his ear with his shoulder as he put on the jacket.

“I t-tried to call y-you.” Sam said in the same weak tone.

Josh immediately felt like shit. He pulled his cell phone out of his desk that he had put away to avoid distraction to get things done. On the small screen he saw there were 18 missed calls from Sam.

“Shit I’m sorry Sammy. Where are you? I’m coming.”

“I t-tried to stop him.” Sam said. He sounded even less like himself now. He sounded confused and delirious. What had that bastard done to him?!

“Are you at home? I’m going to come get you. I need to hang up.” Josh said. “I’ll call you on my cell phone.”

“N-no! ‘Can’t r-reach phone.” Sam said, as though the idea shook him to his core. “Don’t go! P-please! I’ll be good.” He whimpered out.

Josh knew there was a lot to unpack there but he would have to get into it late. Sam needed to be safe. “I’m sorry Sam I need to come find you-”

Josh was interrupted by Toby walking into the office without knocking. “Where the hell are we supposed to find 5 million in the budget for-” the man started but cut himself off at the look on Josh’s face.

“Sam you are going to talk to Toby while I drive to your house. Don’t fall asleep.” Josh ordered before handing the black office phone to the other man who took it without question. Toby had always been a problem solver and was ready to jump into any situation at a moments notice.

“He’s hurt. Probably concussion. Don’t let him sleep.” Josh ordered before running out the door just as Toby said, “Ben and Jerry’s has the best mint chocolate chip.”

\--

Josh had run to his car in the parking lot but decided it would be best to find another method of transportation seeing as the roads in front of him here in a grid lock from some collision earlier. He would have to go on foot.

He hadn’t done much running since college but had anyone seen how fast he was going in that moment they would have thought he was an Olympic athlete. He didn’t care how ridiculous he looked flying down the street in his work clothes. All that mattered was getting to Sam.

He eventually made it to the tall townhouse Sam lived in and sprinted up the steps as fast as he possibly could. He had been expecting to have to break the door down or find some hidden key. What he had not expected was to find the door slightly ajar. He quickly pushed it open and ran into the house.

What he saw made him stop in his tracks.

“SAM!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! LMK what you think!!!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: blood, post violence

Josh had been shot before. He had seen blood before. He should be used to this thing by now considering everyone he loves seems to die in some horrible way. But nothing could ever prepare him for how he found Sam.

The usually happy-go-lucky man was slumped onto his side, laying on the floor of the kitchen. There was glass shattered on the ground along with drops of red that Josh could only assume was the man’s blood. There was more of the substance splattered on the wall at what Josh assumed would be the height of Sam’s head.

Sam’s blackberry was laying a couple feet away from him, just out of the man’s outstretched reach as if he had been trying to grab it. Josh could faintly hear what sounded like Toby shouting something on the other end.

Sam himself could have looked as if he were sleeping had it not been for the state of his body. His eyes were closed peacefully but the rest of him was anything but. His dress shirt looked as though it had been ripped open and several buttons were scattered on the floor. He had several dark bruises on the skin that Josh could see. He could only imagine what horrors lay under the undershirt and dark pants. What worried him most though was the several deep gashes across his head. They looked deep. That wasn’t good.

It took only a second for Josh’s body to begin to work again. He rushed forward, kneeling beside his friend on the floor, not caring that the glass shards were cutting into his own knees.

“Sam?! Sam, come on buddy! Wake up for me!” Josh said, shaking him as gently as he could while still attempting to wake him. “Sam?!” Josh continued. He didn’t know much about first aid. He knew every single voting district in the US by names but wasn’t sure what to do with someone unconscious. He decided to do what his instincts told him and checked for a pulse. He thanked whatever God was listening that he found the soft flutter of Sam’s heart at the spot where his neck and jaw met.

He was breathing. That was good. But he needed to go to the hospital. He needed immediate medical attention. Where was his phone?!

Josh grabbed the first device that he saw which happened to be Sam’s blackberry containing a still frantic Toby.

“Sam, come on kid. Say something. Tell me everything you know about Watergate.” Toby continued to try and coax a response out of the man that he could not see.

“Toby! It’s Josh. I need you to call an ambulance to Sam’s apartment.” Josh said before hurrying back over to Sam, ignoring Toby’s further questions. He could explain later. Right now all that mattered was Sam.

“It’s going to be okay love.” Josh tried to sooth. The pets name slipped out without him even realizing. It had been what his mother called him when he was upset. It was a word of comfort.

“J-josh?” Came the weak voice.

“Yeah, Sammy it’s me. Help it on the way. You’ll be alright.” Josh said, practically pulling Sam into his lap when the man began to shake.

“N-no!” Sam’s eyes were wide now. It was the most awake he had been in the last several minutes. “N-no hospital. I’m f-fine.”

“You are not fine Sam. You need medical attention.” Josh replied in a tone that anyone else would have just accepted. But not Sam. Sam was a fighter, sometimes for the wrong things.

“J-James will be b-back. H-he will help me.” Sam insisted. “I n-need to clean.” He added after scanning his dilated eyes across the room and noticing the blood and glass.

“You don’t need to clean for him.” Josh practically growled. “I’ll kill that fucker if he comes near you.”

“I l-love him.” Sam said softly.

It broke Josh’s heart. Sam thought this was love. He thought pain was love. He thought this abuse was love. Josh could show him what love was. He could show him gentle kisses before bed. He could show him the soft smiles when their eyes met across the room. He could show Sam love.

Josh never got the chance to share these thoughts as a medical team rushed into the room.

“In here!” Josh shouted. Waving the three EMTs in. They immediately got to work, hooking Sam up tot tubes and pulling him out of Josh’s arms and onto a stretcher. 

“I’m coming too!” Josh insisted, trying to follow them out the door.

“No sir. We only allow families in the ambulance. I suggest you gather some of his things and meet us at the hospital.” One of the EMTs said before they packed into the bright red car and sped off.

And Josh was alone again.

\---

“Joshua Lyman Jesus fucking Christ.” Toby had eloquently penned many speeches in his time. He had been praised by many for the quickness of his wit and the cleverness of his mind. Joshua Lyman, Jesus fucking Christ was not the phrase he was most proud of but it was one he meant with his whole being.

“Toby.” Josh sighed, turning from his pacing of the hospital waiting room. His face carried even more stress and tension than usual which was saying a lot for Josh. His clothes were ruffled and stained with red.

“You tell me to call an ambulance then hang up?! You’re going to give me a heart attack!” Toby shouted. He wasn’t exactly mad at Josh. Deep down he understood. But he wasn’t the best at expressing emotions of caring. So, he stuck with what he knew, anger.

“I’m sorry Toby-” Josh started but was cut off.

“Where is he? Is he okay?” The speechwriter cut him off.

“I don’t know. They said they are getting him settled. From what I’ve gathered, he doesn’t need surgery or anything but…shit man.” Josh breathed out, finally ceasing his movements and collapsing into a chair. “He didn’t look good.”

“You think it was that boyfriend?” Toby asked, sitting down as well. They were practically alone in the waiting room. It was eerily quiet.

“I know it was.” Josh nodded. “But I think we shouldn’t tell the rest of the staff yet. We should give him some time.”

“Yeah. Alright.” Toby nodded.

Then, there was silence. There was simply nothing to say at the moment. The meetings they were missing were irrelevant. They bill they should be lobbying was pointless. The speeches that should be in the works could wait. All that mattered was Sam laying in some hospital bed down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMK what you think!!


	11. Chapter 11

“Family of Sam Seaborn?”

Both Toby and Josh were on their feet in a second, crossing the room to talk to the woman standing near the door with a clip board.

“Is he okay?” Josh asked before she could get a single word out.

“He is going to live if that is what you are asking.” She said, looking down at her papers. “I cannot go into great detail as I am assuming neither of you are Martha Seaborn.”

“That’s his mother.” Josh nodded, remembering the few times he had hear Sam mention her. From what he remembered, Sam and Martha didn’t get along well. She had been less than thrilled to find out he was dating a man.

“Since he is awake, I will ask Mr. Seaborn if I can share his information. I will say,” She said, looking up. “In cases like this where there appears to be domestic abuse, we are very careful with who is allowed to visit our patients.” 

“Can we see him.” Josh said, not really listening to anything she had said.

“I will go talk to Mr. Seaborn. What are your names.” She said, writing them down before turning on her heal and walking back into the hallway.

“You don’t think that bastard that did this would show up?” Josh asked Toby who had his hands in his pockets in an attempt to seem calm, but Josh knew they were clenched into fists.

“I don’t know. I will say that he will regret it if he does.” Toby was not a traditionally threatening man, but he felt like he could kill. No one messes with his staff, especially Sam.

“Sam didn’t want to come to the hospital.” Josh continued like he was afraid of falling back into silence again. “He said he wanted to clean up the kitchen for James. He is so far in Sam’s head that Sam’s first instinct after being assaulted is to clean up the scene.”

“He was manipulated.”

“I should have done something sooner. I knew I hated that guy; I just didn’t know how much.”

“Mr. Zeigler, you can come in.” The Doctor said, holding the door open.

The two made their way towards the door but the woman stuck her arm out to stop Josh. “Just Mr. Zeigler.”

“What? He’s my best friend! You have to let me through!” Josh said, quickly growing angry.

“Mr. Lyman I will have you removed from this hospital if you do not calm down.”

“No! I brought him here! I’m covered in his blood!” Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to point out, but he was pissed off.

“Just shut up!” Toby shouted at him. “Sit down. Have coffee. I’ll talk to Sam.”

Josh wanted to argue. He wanted to push through he doors, but he just sat down.

Toby made his way through the long hallway of doors in search of room 127. Josh hadn’t told him much about Sam’s physical state and he didn’t want to push. The deputy looked like he too might collapse. He eventually made it to the door he had been searching for and slowly pressed it open.

“Sam?” He asked gently.

“T-Toby?”

Sam looked small. He was tucked under a scratchy looking hospital blanket in on equally uncomfortable looking gown. There were several bandages wrapped around different parts of his body and a large white bandage wrapped tightly around his head. His right arm was in a sling and Toby’s first thought was how upset Sam would be that he wouldn’t be able to write his speeches at a mile a minute on his yellow legal pads.

He looked weak. His eyes seemed to struggle to open and there was a forced smile on his mouth.

“How you holding up kid.” Toby said, walking further into the room but refusing to sit. He chose to lead against the wall instead.

“I’ve been better” He admitted with another weak smile. “I probably shouldn’t have left water on the floor.”

“What?” Toby asked, not sure what he was talking about.

“I spilled some water on the floor and slipped on it. Hit my head and broke a glass. That’s how I got hurt.” Sam said.

Toby looked into his eyes. He knew James had fucked with Sam’s brain, but he hadn’t expected him to continue to defend the man after being sent to the hospital. “Sam, there are finger print bruises around your neck.”

“Yeah. I a-accidentally hit myself when I tried t-to grab something for balance.” Sam said, hesitating only a bit.

“And you grabbed your neck.” The older man said slowly.

“Yeah.” Sam nodded.

Sam had always been truthful to a fault. He would never lie if he could avoid it. That’s why it scared Toby so much that the man was looking him in the eyes and expecting to believe his bullshit.

He would humor him for now.

“Alright.” Toby nodded. “Why didn’t you want Josh to come in?” He moved on to his next question. Sam looked close to passing out either from exhaustion or the pain medication and he figured he only had a minute or two left on consciousness. He was going to use that time for answers. Comfort could come later.

“D-didn’t want him to be m-mad.” Sam said with a yawn.

“Why would he be mad?”

“He doesn’t like James.” Sam hummed, eyes beginning to droop a bit more.

“Do you like him?”

“I love him.” Sam said.

“That wasn’t the question.”

“I like Josh.” Sam snuggled further into his uncomfortable.

“You like Josh?” Toby asked.

“Yeah…I love…” Sam started to mutter but didn’t get to the end of his sentence before his eyes closed completely and he drifted to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter because I'm bored😂 thanks for reading!!


	12. Chapter 12

“So? How is he? Is he okay? Did he tell you what happened? Did he say why he didn’t want me to go in?” Josh flooded Toby with questions the second he came back into the waiting room.

“Yeah, he’s never been better. Asked if we could do a marathon together.” The older man answered sarcastically.

“Come on Toby.”

“He’s still covering for the bastard.” Toby replied. He continued to make his way down the hall and eventually exited the hospital completely. He leaned against the side of a building and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket. He silently offered one to Josh as well.

It wasn’t often that Josh smoked. He didn’t like the way it messed with his head. Normally, he liked being fully aware of everything going on. But right now…maybe it would be good to have a distraction.

Toby lit both cigarettes and took several drags out of his before he spoke again. “Sam said he tripped and hit his head.”

“Shit.” Josh said. He knew James had gotten into the man’s head, but he didn’t know how badly. The man had quite literally almost killed him, and he is still insisting on protecting him.

“He said he only allowed me in because he was worried you would be mad at him.”

“Mad about what?” Josh asked, unbuttoning the front of his suit jacket as he leaned against the brick wall, forgetting that he was covered in blood.

“He said you don’t like James.”

“I don’t.”

“I don’t either.” Toby agreed, as though that wasn’t obvious. “What do we do now?”

Of all the non-Toby-like things that Toby had said so far that day, this was the least Toby thing yet. He always had a plan. He always knew what to do.

“I don’t know.” Josh admitted, a strange thing for him to admit as well. “I don’t think we should tell the president or the staff yet. As much as I want to get him all the protection he can get, it’s Sam’s place to share what happened.”

“You’re right.” Toby agreed. “We should get back to work at some point.”

“I’m not leaving him.” Josh said stubbornly.

“He didn’t allow you access to the room. You go to work. I’ll stay with him and call you when he wakes up.” Toby said. He put out his cigarette on the side of the brick before tossing it into a trash can.

“Fine.” Josh agreed. He didn’t want to leave the hospital but knew he needed to run the country. “Keep an eye on him. Call me if anything happens.”

“I will.” Toby nodded.

Josh put his cigarette out as well before turning to go. “Josh!” Toby stopped him.

“What?”

“Make sure you change your shirt.”

\---

“There you are!” Donna rushed up to him. “Where have you been? You missed three meetings on the hill and CJ has been running around the building for the last hour looking for you!”

“I got held up.” He muttered, still tying the new tie around his neck. He had managed to slip into his office and change without anyone noticing and was not being attacked by his assistant.

“Well, I rescheduled the meetings to tonight at 9, 10:30 and 11 so you need-”

“No. I have something tonight. Clear my schedule for as soon as possible.” Josh dismissed, continuing to walk through the crowded bullpen towards the press room in search of CJ.

Unfortunately, CJ managed to find him before he could find her. 

“Joshua Lyman! My office!” She shouted, sounding like a principle cornering a student.

“Yes mam.” He muttered as he followed the Press Secretary to her office.

“What did you do?” She half asked, half shouted once they were inside, and the door was closed.

“I’m sorry I missed the meetings, it’s not that big of a deal-”

“I don’t care about the meetings! I care that one of my reporters came to me with this picture!” she said, slapping down a grainy picture that he recognized as him and Toby smoking outside of the large brick building.

“People don’t care if we smoke. It’s not that-” Josh started to defend himself but CJ didn’t give him the chance.

  
“Why are you covered in blood?!”

Oh. Yeah. That might not be as easy to explain.

  
“Josh you know how wild some of these “news” stories can be. Without some context the morning paper is going to be accusing you of murder.” She said, finally sitting down at her desk with a tired sigh. “Now what happened.”

  
“I can’t tell you.” He gave CJ her least favorite answer, bracing himself for impact.

“You. Can’t. Tell me?” She said in disbelief. “You can’t tell me why two senior staffers left work in the middle of the day and showed up outside of what looks like a hospital, one covered in blood?”

“Yeah.” He nodded.

  
“I’m going to kill you one day and-” She cut her threats short, suddenly realizing something. “This doesn’t have anything to do with Sam. Does it?”

  
“I can’t tell you.” Josh said in a way that implied she was right.

“Is he okay?” She continued.

“He’s alive. Stable.”

“And you aren’t going to tell me anything else?”

“Not until I talk to him first.” Josh said firmly.

“What should I tell the press?”

“Tell them a close friend was in an accident and we would appreciate their privacy on the matter.” He replied. “Tell the fucker that took this picture” he motioned to the hospital shot, “that I will give their network an exclusive interview if they don’t run a story.”

“I don’t think they will agree but I’ll try.” CJ nodded, standing up. There was a lot of work to be done to cover up something like this.

“Good.” Josh said, remaining seated for another moment, preparing himself to face the rest of the day. “Good. Thanks CJ”

He stood to walk out the door but was stopped but his friend. “Are you okay Josh?” She said carefully.

“Okay? Yeah. I’m great. I’m fine.” He said, very unconvincingly.

“Are you sure? You must have found Sam in pretty bad shape for all that blood…” Both shivered at the thought. Josh had done his best to wipe the memory of Sam lying in his own blood out of his head, but it kept coming back to haunt him.

“I’ll be alright. Let’s just get back to work.” Josh nodded.

“You can talk to me. I know you and Sam have a…special relationship.” She said, lowering her voice.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Josh said, trying to make a move towards the door but CJ stepped in front of him.

“We all see the way you look at him. You can talk to me if-”

“I look at him like I look at everyone else! Get out of my way CJ. I have work to do.” Josh said, storming out of the office and not looking back. He felt bad for yelling at his friend but couldn’t help himself. She had struck a nerve in him, because he knew it was true. There was no avoiding it. He was in love.

He was in love with his friend.

Josh was in love with Sam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmk what you think!!


	13. Chapter 13

The second the clock struck 7, Josh was out his office door and on his way to the hospital. He had called Toby about 30 times through the day for updates on Sam. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything new. The only good news was that when Sam had woken up shortly to be persuaded to eat dinner, he had added Josh to his list of allowed visitors.

“Hey, how is he?” Josh said, finding Toby exactly where he left him, smoking outside the hospital. He looked as though he hadn’t moved the whole day though Josh knew that wasn’t true. The man was just tired. And worried. Sam was somewhere between a son and a brother and him being in a hospital bed was stressing him more than writing a State of the Union.

“He’s sleeping still.” Toby replied. “He woke up a few times. ‘Was surprised I was there. Kept asking for James.” He said, spitting the name like a curse.

“What are we going to do man?” Josh ran a hand through his hair. “CJ already has the press asking questions. We can’t let him get away with this, but we can’t cause a huge scandal either.”

“Sam is still Sam.” Toby said firmly. “He’s still the magna cum lade graduate of Princeton. He’s still smart and knows what is right and wrong. He just needs convincing that he’s the victim.”

“I know. It’s just weird to see him so unconfident and manipulated.”

“I need to get some things from work. Go talk to him.” Toby said, picking up his brief case off the ground.

  
“Alright.” Josh nodded.

“Keep me updated.”

Josh murmured an agreement before entering the hospital and checking in at the front desk. Toby had described Sam’s current condition, but Josh hadn’t thought actually seeing him like this would break his heart so much. He looked so small under the blankets wearing the hospital gown with a large black sweatshirt over the top.

“Hey Sammy.” Josh said, taking a seat next to his bed. Toby had told him that Sam had refused to eat. There was a full plate of food on the table next to him.

“’osh?” Sam muttered, slowly blinking his eyes open.

“’Morning sunshine.” Josh did his best to smile. “Are you hungry?”

“Not even a little bit.” Sam said. He pressed a button on the side on his bed that slowly raised him into a sitting position. “What did I miss?”

“What?” Josh said, not sure what he was talking about.

“What did I miss? Are we still a democracy? Any new wars?”

“You’re asking about work?” Josh asked. He really wanted to be surprised but he wasn’t.

“Yeah.” Sam nodded.

“Well, it looks like the Climate bill isn’t going to make it to a vote. They want us to cut 2 million out of the budget.” Josh said as he took the tray of food and placed it in front of Sam.

“We just cut 3 million out last month” Sam did the thing Josh loved where he scrunched his nose adorably whenever he was unhappy about something.

“I know. Now eat.” Josh said, pointing at the plate.

“But Josh-” Sam whined, sounding almost like a child.

“But Sam.” Josh mimicked in the same tone. “If you don’t eat then I won’t eat and I’m starving. Are you really going to make me die of hunger?”

“You’re quite dramatic.” Sam laughed. It was a beautiful sound though it sounded a bit more strained than usual.

“I have never once in my life said anything dramatic.”

  
“Yeah yeah whatever. Can we split it?” Sam asked, beginning to cut the sandwich he had been given in half.

“As long as you eat something.” Josh nodded, taking his half.

Sam took the smallest bite possible, but Josh was satisfied that he was eating.

They eventually fell into easy conversation. It would have felt like they were grabbing dinner as friends had they not been in a hospital room and Sam wasn’t still a bit high on the pain medication. His loopyness had led to a number of odd remarks including a confession that one of Sam’s biggest turn-ons was guys using big legal words. Josh had almost spit out his drink in surprise but made a mental note to say contra proferentem and allegedly more.

Around 9 Sam’s eyes began to droop and his let out several yawns. One of the nurses came in to tell Josh that visiting hours wound be over in 20 minutes and he needed to say his goodbyes.

“You gonna be alright Sam?” Josh asked and was answered with a hum of agreement. Before he could say goodbye, his phone rang. He picked it up, seeing a call from Toby.

“Hey Toby.”

_“How’s he doing?”_

Josh looked over and smiled softly seeing Sam beginning to fall asleep, curled up in the sweatshirt. “He’s doing a bit better.” Josh said, lowering his voice a bit.

_“Good good. We need him back at work in one piece.”_ Josh could hear him shuffling through papers on the other line.

“When you went to his house earlier did grab any of his other stuff?” Josh asked.

_“I didn’t go to his house.”_ Toby replied.

  
“What?” Josh said, looking over at Sam in confusion. The man had already drifted off to sleep. “Then where did he get the sweatshirt?”

_“What sweatshirt?”_

“The sweatshirt he’s wearing?”

_“He wasn’t wearing a sweatshirt when I left to smoke.”_ Toby said, beginning to sound concerned as well.

“Then where…” Josh wondered. He went over to Sam and gently shook him a bit. “Sam? Can you wake up buddy?” Sam didn’t wake up. Instead, the tussling caused him to roll a bit to the side, revealing the rest of the sweatshirt.

Josh wanted to throw up. It was clearly from some team. College football judging by the way the numbers were displayed on the back. It wasn’t this that disturbed him though. It was the last name written in sick white box letters across the top.

“Toby…how long were you gone before I showed up.”

_“Maybe 15 minutes. Why?”_

“He was here.” Josh swallowed hard. “James was with Sam.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! LMK what you think!


End file.
